Magnitsky's Mother Files Criminal Complaint Against Russian Officials

The mother of Sergei Magnitsky has filed a criminal complaint against Russian Prosecutor-General Yuri Chaika, senior officials of the Russian Interior Ministry, the Federal Security Service, the Penitentiary Service, and 11 judges, accusing them of being involved in a conspiracy to murder her son.

Magnitsky, an attorney who was jailed after accusing Interior Ministry officials of involvement in a massive corruption scandal, died in pre-trial detention in 2009 after suffering abuse and medical neglect.

He was acting as outside counsel for the investment firm Hermitage Capital Management.

In her petition filed last week with the Russian Investigative Committee, Natalia Magnitskaya and her lawyer, Nikolai Gorokhov, disclosed newly discovered evidence from Russian government case files.

The new documents show that three days after Magnitsky's death, the lead investigator from the Investigative Committee's branch for the Preobrazhensky district of Moscow concluded that there was strong evidence that Magnitsky had been murdered.

The officer recommended opening a murder investigation. However, no investigation was opened.